Ramaphosa appoints Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu as Sars boss

Dr Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu is the new boss of the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Makhubu’s appointment as Commissioner of Sars on Thursday, with The Presidency saying the five-year term is effective from 1 May. Makhubu takes over from Edward Kieswetter, who played a key role in the turnaround of SA’s revenue service following the state capture period.

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“President Ramaphosa has made this appointment in terms of section 6 of the South African Revenue Service Act of 1997, following a unanimous recommendation by a selection panel convened by Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana,” says Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

Makhubu was previously the deputy commissioner of taxpayer engagement and operations since 2023. He’s also a seasoned public and private sector executive with more than 17 years of senior leadership experience spanning tax administration, commercial, finance and operations management.

The commissioner-designate has also worked in complex, regulated and large-scale organisations across multiple industries including fast-moving consumer goods, mining, power generation and public revenue services.

“Dr Makhubu has worked on the formulation of the SARS strategic direction since 2020 and has actively worked to implement the Vision 2024 strategy together with the current Commissioner,” Magwenya adds.

The implementation of Vision 2024 achieved revenue collections with a compounded annual growth rate of 7.6% while voluntary compliance increased by 3.4 percentage points.

Kieswetter will bow out on a high after reporting record-breaking revenue collections at his last revenue results announcement on Wednesday.